Abstracts and Addictions

I just cannot take a nice long walk on a Sunday afternoon or any afternoon for that matter, without taking a photo; it’s an addiction. As I walk, arms swinging, humming a tune and happy just being outside, my eyes begin “seeing” and before I know it I’m pulling my iPhone from my pocket. What aroused my addiction this day was a slight change in direction and walking along 19th Avenue. I normally do not walk along this road because, it is very desolate and inhabited only by sleeping tractor trailers taking a break from a long days haul. It didn’t take too long before I noticed that there really was not much to the scenery so, I popped on the fish-eye lens just to see what kind of abstractions I could create. The sky was a quilt of clouds and intermittent sun , any surrounding trees were bare with gnarled branches; perfect backdrop to the mundane subject matter. I concentrated on brightly colored vehicles that would pop out of the scene including cars and buses in the mix if they had some sort of personality.

I captured a handful of images and satisfied put the phone back in my pocket and continued my walk to Astoria Park; my original destination. On my way back home the sky which had turned grey was now back-lit by the sun which cast an opalescent sheen to the East River highlighting the cat-like arch and swerve of the Hell Gate Bridge. I slid the phone from my pocket. I needed another hit.

The tide was out enabling me to scramble down among the craggy rocks and get a “down-under” perspective for these images. I kept to the river bank shooting north then south until I came to the end of the park where I put my phone back in my pocket, temporarily quelling my habit until, the next time I’m out walking the streets of Astoria Queens in search of another “photographic phix.”